Caffeine's RP History and the meaning behind the name

Subject: Caffeine's RP History and the meaning behind the name Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:39 pm

First, we have to delve into some ancient troll history. Trolls, as we all know, were the first intelligent beings to walk upon the soil of Azeroth. (Tauren were likely around too, but the two races didn't clash as Trolls had no need for the land that the Tauren preferred and found sacred.)

Unfortunately, there arose another thinking species, one in perfect service to the vile Old God C'Thun. The Azj-Aqir were insectile and their only goal was to eradicate any and all endoskeletal life.

We trolls battled them fiercely for many years. We had them pushed into the Far South and the Far North by the time the foolish night elves blew up the world. It is a fact that the city of Zul'Farrak was once a Gurubashi military post guarding against the push of the Aqir through Tanaris.

During this war, we learned many things about the life processes of insects. We found, for example that a yellowish alkaline substance was highly toxic to them and many plants had already learned this and produced it to protect themselves from the Azj-Aqir's tiny cousins.

This substance is Caffeine.

A little bit of personal history:

The Tidestalkers are a seafaring clan of trolls within the Darkspear tribe. We sail in canoes, outriggers, and catamarans across the oceans, and the sky is our Great Map.* We have charted nearly every coastline on our planet. We are all ritually married to the ocean as children.

Like all the Darkspears, we called the islands near the Maelstrom our home until we left with Thrall after humans and murlocs destroyed our home. The Tidestalkers were especially badly hit by the murlocs, as we traditionally live on rafts upon the water itself, and presented what must have been prime targets for those slimy bastards. The Mea Va'a family survived, and since then we have found only one lost Tidestalker.

Our family moved to Ratchet shortly after Zalazane's rebellion forced the Darkspears off the Loas' Echo. My father, Papa 'Olelo Mea Va'a, took employment with Gazlowe as the navigator of the ship that crossed the ocean from Ratchet to Booty Bay. He knew how to steer a ship past the powerful Maelstrom as we Darkspears had lived in its shadow for hundreds, maybe even a thousand years or more.

Papa 'Olelo has since gone to the sea. However, he shared much with the goblins of Ratchet and they with him. He used to quaff a hot, black drink which would make him alert during the voyages. I have taken up the drink myself in the manner of goblins, who pass carafes of it around during all night Tool Time rituals (cleverly disguised as marathon workshop activity--I'm on to them!). I also drink it in Papa's memory. The substance that keeps you alert is a yellowish alkali and the drink comes from various plants that do not have much insect infestation.

The substance is Caffeine.

* The Polynesians of Earth were my inspiration for the Tidestalker clan. They were among the greatest navigators in the history of RL mankind and applied their craft using stone-age technology.